The NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee and the NFL are partnering with Verizon and the Broadway Green Alliance to collect and safely recycle electronic waste in New York and New Jersey. The recycling events are open to the public, and are a part of the group's commitment to a cleaner environment.

The first of two collections will take place in New Jersey on January 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the AnythingIT Fair Lawn Headquarters located at 17-09 Zink Place in Fair Lawn. AnythingIT, which is E-Stewards certified, is the electronics recycler for both events.

The following day, on January 8, a collection will take place in New York City at Duffy Square in Times Square, off of 7(th) Avenue between 46(th) and 47(th) Streets. The public will be encouraged to drop off their electronic waste between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

"The Host Committee is committed to making a positive environmental impact in New York and New Jersey through a series of initiatives, such as our tree planting efforts and now the e-waste collection," said Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. President and CEO, NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee. "We are proud to join the NFL, Verizon and the Broadway Green Alliance to help collect and recycle e-waste and to create a cleaner, safer environment while educating the public."

"Collecting e-waste is a new project for the NFL," according to NFL Environmental Program Director Jack Groh. "Working with Verizon and with the Broadway Green Alliance made it possible to add this event to the many community projects surrounding Super Bowl XLVIII and to adding one more element to the overall 'greening' of the Super Bowl."

"New electronics are very popular gifts each holiday season, but we all need to know where and how we are discarding our old devices," said James Gowen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Verizon. "As more phones and tablets enter the marketplace, Verizon remains committed to collecting used models, helping to curb the rise in electronic waste."

Verizon has collected 1.5 million pounds of e-waste at similar events since the launch of its recycling rally program in 2009. Creating an ecosystem of sustainability, Verizon partners with SHI on e-waste events, and Guardian handles the logistics/transportation.

In addition to recycling e-waste, Verizon will be restoring used cell phones and donating them to shelters in New York and New Jersey as part of its HopeLine program, which provides support for domestic violence prevention organizations nationwide. Since HopeLine started in 2001, Verizon has donated more than 150,000 phones to domestic violence and survivors and awarded millions of dollars in cash grants to its related partner agencies.

"The Broadway Green Alliance is pleased to join with the NFL and Verizon to make this e-waste drive special. NFL fans will join Broadway shows and theatres in responsibly recycling their old electronics in Times Square. And, iPods collected will go to the Broadway Alzheimer's iPod Drive to give the gift of music to area nursing home residents." said Rebekah Sale, Broadway Green Alliance's Coordinator.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States generated more than 2.44 million tons and 3.4 million tons of e-waste in 2010 and 2011, respectively. In 2010, 19.6 percent of that year's total e-waste was recycled, and in 2011, 24.6 percent of that year's total e-waste was recycled.

In 2010, 152 million mobile devices were disposed of in the United States. The EPA has indicated that recycling as few as 1 million cellphones can recover 50 lbs of gold, 550 lbs of silver, 20 lbs of palladium, and 20,000 lbs of copper. Recycling e-waste uses a fraction of the energy needed to mine new metals and reduces the production of harmful emissions of CO2 and sulfur dioxide into the environment. E-waste also creates jobs - compared to disposal; computer reuse creates 296 more jobs per for every 10,000 tons of material disposed each year.